Moldable Sink Insert Assembly

ABSTRACT

A moldable sink insert assembly includes a gasket that is comprised of a moldable material to conform to a sink opening in a stone countertop. Additionally, the gasket is comprised of a thermoformable material to precisely conform to the sink opening. The gasket is comprised of a deformable material to inhibit a sink positioned in the sink opening from damaging the stone countertop. A heat source is included for emitting heated air outwardly therefrom. The heat source is in thermal communication with the gasket when the heat source is positioned within a minimum distance from the gasket. In this way the gasket can be thermoformed to facilitate the gasket to be shaped to conform to the sink opening.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to insert device and more particularly pertains to a new insert device for inhibiting a stone countertop from being chipped during a sink installation.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to insert devices including a molding strip that includes a spear that engages a slot in a surface. The prior art discloses a variety of edge moldings that are positionable on an edge of a flat surface. The prior art discloses a pliable mat that is positionable on a floor of a sink or basin. The prior art discloses sink attachment device that fits between a countertop and an under-mount sink. The prior art discloses a gasket for surrounding a sink in a countertop.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a gasket that is comprised of a moldable material to conform to a sink opening in a stone countertop. Additionally, the gasket is comprised of a thermoformable material to precisely conform to the sink opening. The gasket is comprised of a deformable material to inhibit a sink positioned in the sink opening from damaging the stone countertop. A heat source is included for emitting heated air outwardly therefrom. The heat source is in thermal communication with the gasket when the heat source is positioned within a minimum distance from the gasket. In this way the gasket can be thermoformed to facilitate the gasket to be shaped to conform to the sink opening.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a moldable sink insert assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a back view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, a new insert device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the moldable sink insert assembly 10 generally comprises a gasket 12 that is comprised of a moldable material for conforming to a sink opening 14 in a stone countertop 16. Additionally, the gasket 12 is comprised of a thermoformable material thereby facilitating the gasket 12 to be shaped to precisely conform to the sink opening 14. The thermoformable material may be an amorphous plastic or other material that can be shaped with heat produced by commonly available objects. The gasket 12 is comprised of a deformable material to inhibit a sink 18 positioned in the sink opening 14 from damaging the stone countertop 16. In this way the stone countertop 16 is inhibited from chipping when the sink 18 is being installed in the sink opening 14.

The gasket 12 has a first end 20 and a second end 22, and the gasket 12 is elongated between the first end 20 and the second end 22. The gasket 12 has a bend 24 extending between the first end 20 and the second end 22 to define a first portion 26 of the gasket 12 forming an angle with a second portion 28 of the gasket 12. The gasket 12 has a first edge 30 that is associated with the first portion 26 and the gasket 12 has a second edge 32 that is associated with the second portion 28. Moreover, the bend 24 is positioned closer to the first edge 30 than the second edge 32 such that the second portion 28 has a width that is greater than a width of the first portion 26.

The first portion 26 lies on an upper surface 34 of the stone countertop 16. The second portion 28 extends downwardly along a bounding edge 36 of the sink opening 14 in the stone countertop 16. In this way the gasket 12 inhibits the sink 18 from contacting the stone countertop 16 when the sink 18 is installed in the sink opening 14. The gasket 12 can be trimmed to an appropriate length to extend around a perimeter of the sink opening 14. The first portion 26 may have a width of approximately 0.5 inch and the second portion 28 may have a width of approximately 1.0 inch.

A heat source 38 is provided for emitting heated air outwardly therefrom. The heat source 38 is in thermal communication with the gasket 12 when the heat source 38 is positioned within a minimum distance from the gasket 12. In this way the gasket 12 can be thermoformed to facilitate the gasket 12 to be shaped to conform to the sink opening 14. The heat source 38 may be an electric heat gun or other electric heat source 38 that produces heated air with a minimum temperature of 120.0 degrees Fahrenheit.

In use, the gasket 12 is trimmed to the required length and the heat source 38 is used to heat the gasket 12. In this way the gasket 12 can be thermoformed to precisely conform to the sink opening 14 in the stone countertop 16. The gasket 12 inhibits the sink 18 from chipping or otherwise damaging the stone countertop 16 when the sink 18 is being installed. In this way the gasket 12 ensures that costly repairs do not have to be performed on the stone countertop 16 after the sink 18 is installed.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A moldable sink insert assembly for placing between a lip of a sink and a stone countertop to inhibit the stone countertop from chipping, said assembly comprising: a gasket being comprised of a moldable material wherein said gasket is configured to be shaped to conform to a sink opening in the stone countertop, said gasket being comprised of a thermoformable material wherein said gasket is configured to be shaped to precisely conform to the sink opening, said gasket being comprised of a deformable material wherein said gasket is configured to inhibit the sink positioned in the sink opening from damaging the stone countertop; and a heat source being configured to emit heated air outwardly therefrom, said heat source being in thermal communication with said gasket when said heat source is positioned within a minimum distance from said gasket thereby facilitating said gasket to be thermoformed wherein said heat source is configured to facilitate said gasket to be shaped to conform to the sink opening.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said gasket has a first end and a second end, said gasket being elongated between said first end and said second end.
 3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said gasket has a bend extending between said first end and said second end to define a first portion of said gasket forming an angle with a second portion of said gasket, said gasket having a first edge being associated with said first portion, said gasket having a second edge being associated with said second portion.
 4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said gasket has a first end and a second end, said gasket being elongated between said first end and said second end, said gasket has a bend extending between said first end and said second end to define a first portion of said gasket forming an angle with a second portion of said gasket, said gasket having a first edge being associated with said first portion, said gasket having a second edge being associated with said second portion.
 5. The assembly according to claim 4, wherein said bend is positioned closer to said first edge than said second edge such that said second portion has a width greater than a width of said first portion, said first portion being configured for lying on an upper surface of the stone countertop and said second portion being configured for extending downwardly along a bounding edge of the sink opening in the stone countertop wherein said gasket is configured to inhibit the sink from contacting the stone countertop when the sink is installed in the sink opening.
 6. A moldable sink insert assembly for placing between a lip of a sink and a stone countertop to inhibit the stone countertop from chipping, said assembly comprising: a gasket being comprised of a moldable material wherein said gasket is configured to be shaped to conform to a sink opening in the stone countertop, said gasket being comprised of a thermoformable material wherein said gasket is configured to be shaped to precisely conform to the sink opening, said gasket being comprised of a deformable material wherein said gasket is configured to inhibit the sink positioned in the sink opening from damaging the stone countertop, said gasket having a first end and a second end, said gasket being elongated between said first end and said second end, said gasket having a bend extending between said first end and said second end to define a first portion of said gasket forming an angle with a second portion of said gasket, said gasket having a first edge being associated with said first portion, said gasket having a second edge being associated with said second portion, said bend being positioned closer to said first edge than said second edge such that said second portion has a width greater than a width of said first portion, said first portion being configured for lying on an upper surface of the stone countertop and said second portion being configured for extending downwardly along a bounding edge of the sink opening in the stone countertop wherein said gasket is configured to inhibit the sink from contacting the stone countertop when the sink is installed in the sink opening; and a heat source being configured to emit heated air outwardly therefrom, said heat source being in thermal communication with said gasket when said heat source is positioned within a minimum distance from said gasket thereby facilitating said gasket to be thermoformed wherein said heat source is configured to facilitate said gasket to be shaped to conform to the sink opening.
 7. A moldable sink insert system for inhibiting a stone countertop from chipping, said system comprising: a stone countertop having a sink opening extending therethrough; a gasket being comprised of a moldable material such that said gasket can be shaped to conform to said sink opening, said gasket being comprised of a thermoformable material such that said gasket can be shaped to precisely conform to said sink opening, said gasket being comprised of a deformable material to inhibit a sink positioned in said sink opening from damaging said stone countertop, said gasket having a first end and a second end, said gasket being elongated between said first end and said second end, said gasket having a bend extending between said first end and said second end to define a first portion of said gasket forming an angle with a second portion of said gasket, said gasket having a first edge being associated with said first portion, said gasket having a second edge being associated with said second portion, said bend being positioned closer to said first edge than said second edge such that said second portion has a width greater than a width of said first portion, said first portion lying on an upper surface of said stone countertop having and said second portion extending downwardly along a bounding edge of said sink opening in said stone countertop wherein said gasket is configured to inhibit the sink from contacting said stone countertop when the sink is installed in said sink opening; and a heat source being configured to emit heated air outwardly therefrom, said heat source being in thermal communication with said gasket when said heat source is positioned within a minimum distance from said gasket thereby facilitating said gasket to be thermoformed facilitate said gasket to be shaped to conform to said sink opening. 